Review: ‘JeruZalem,’ Through Glasses, Darkly

“JeruZalem” is an intriguing variation on the found-footage horror genre, showing virtually the entire story through the perspective of a pair of smart glasses. But, as if losing faith in the gimmick, the directors, the brothers Doron and Yoav Paz, ultimately shackle it to a run-from-the-ghouls climax, and intriguing becomes ordinary.

As the story opens, two young American friends, Rachel (Yael Grobglas) and Sarah (Danielle Jadelyn), embark on a trip to Israel. Sarah’s father (Howard Rypp) sends her off with a gift: smart glasses, which become her go-to eyewear once her regular glasses are stolen, and thus our camera.

The point of view is a bit dizzying, at least for nongamers — it’s basically the perspective of a first-person shooter game. That becomes apropos, because the two end up in the Old City section of Jerusalem, where there are creatures that need shooting: The undead are rising. The women and Kevin (Yon Tumarkin), a young man who befriends them, end up running for their lives through an endless number of dark passages.

The filmmakers leave assorted plot possibilities underexplored — Sarah’s anxious father; her grief over a dead brother; the religious intersections of the faiths that call Jerusalem home. Instead, they content themselves with seeing how some familiar horror movie tricks look through smart glasses. Kevin even, preposterously, has to be freed from an asylum as the apocalyptic invasion begins. The more desperate the characters’ flight becomes, the less interesting the movie grows. It does end with a witty flourish, though — one that makes good use of those glasses. NEIL GENZLINGER